OK, I am making this a new thread for those of us who are attending the Distance Learning program at Leicester. So feel free to post any comments or suggestion about the course work, etc. in here.

Greetings Classarch, and welcome to the University of Leicester. You will be pleased with your decision. I'll be starting my third module anytime. I have thus far enjoyed the course work, which is both challenging and rewarding. Good Luck!

Thanks. So is there anything I should know about the first module to prepare for it?

Hi.  I noticed the ads for University of Leicester correspondance courses in Archaeology Magazine and sent for the info.  I was wondering if any completed credits would transfer to other schools.  Has anyone completed them and attached them to a resumee successfully?

I know a professor who got his Ph.D at Leicester.

I graduated from the Leicester master's program(me), with Distinction, in 2004. My advisor was the then Dean of the Graduate Programme in Archaeology, so you WILL be dealing directly with top faculty. I am currently a Zone Archaeologist with the Forest Service, in charge of the archaeology on a 500K acre National Forest. From what I have experienced and heard from others, the Leicester program is as good as any US master's course, and better than many. You will get not only the skills to go on to a research Ph.D, but the skills needed to actually work in CRM. I found all of the modules useful, but appreciate the Archaeology of Standing Structures and Public Archaeology (both may be called something else now, as the course is constantly being improved and updated) most of all. Please feel free to email me directly if you would like more specific information, help, or advice.

I received an MA in Archaeology and Heritage with Distinction from Leicester in 2009. I'm now preparing my PhD research proposal and am hoping to begin at Leicester in October. Although I think the Leicester DL programs are great, I do worry that a distance learning degree from Leicester might not carry the same weight as a more traditional degree and could place me at a disadvantage in the future, particularly in applying for teaching positions.
 
Distance learning was the only option for me at the time I began the MA program and I will be able to complete the PhD while working full time (in CRM).  Since I graduated Leicester has added MA programs in Historical Archaeology and Landscape Archaeology and I have recommended the programs to others, with the only caveat being that expressed above.

Thanks flux for stating your concern.  I am seriously thinking now of taking the introductory course.  Perhaps it would be at least a good beginning to get certified, and maybe take courses in other universities later on: a mix and match sort of thing.  Surely learning fieldwork directly from Leicester profs as being actually on campus (which is a requirement for one week, I understand, though they can accept other fieldschool work as long as they preapprove it; I think it would be nice to make a trip to the UK).  All I know is that I need to start somewhere, and I ain't getting any younger.

Also, thank you rkeyo for offering your help.  I may definitely take you up on that.

rkeyo and Flux, it is good to know that there are others who pursued the same avenue and are happy with their decisions! I am currently working on my final project of Module 4 (Archaeology of Standing Buildings). Yay, final semester/module! Of course I still have to write my thesis and I still haven't decided entirely on a subject. Have one in mind, as was posted here on another thread, but have to check some things out with my aunt in Greece before I go that route. My passion is Ancient Greece but actually being able to get over there and work makes my decision hard. Since I am in Virginia and my fiancé attends William & Mary for the Arch Grad program doing Historic archaeology, I have to decide if I want to pursue a colonial or other historic topic or go with my first passion, Greece. This really sucks because I love all archaeology. 

Flux, rkeyo or grabast do any of you have suggestions or advice you can give me? Just want to here from you all because you have already been through the Dissertation process! Any others out there who have also been through a Thesis or Dissertation process from any school who have any advice please feel free to give it!

Just to let you all know, Leicester Distance Learning has an un-official page on Facebook. 

Ngoldwe, I hope I haven't discouraged you.  I want to clarify; I agree with Rkeyo's statement that the Leicester program is as good as or better than many U.S. MA programs.  I'm not entirely sure about transferring credits from Leicester DL to a U.S. school; however I would think that this would be similar to transferring credits from any accredited overseas institution.  Importantly, in the U.S. and in CRM, an MA from Leicester will meet the Secretary of the Interior's standards and satisfy the criteria for RPA membership. A certificate will not greatly enhance your resume. 
 
Classarch, I've followed the other thread and it's very interesting.  Even if you are not able to make it to Greece and do the fieldwork, I feel that you could develop a fine dissertation based on identifying the potential site and preparing a research design plan.  Leicester seems pretty flexible about dissertation topics.  By the way, I live in northern Virginia and have been working in CRM for years.  I've done a lot of work on colonial sites and would be happy to offer any assistance that I might be able to provide if you follow that path.

I also wanted to mention that the director of archaeology at Mount Vernon received her PhD from Leicester a few years ago.

Not to worry Flux, you have not discouraged me.  I am trying to gain as much info as I can so I can forumlate a game plan to pick up where I left off and finish my education and gain a foothold in a career in archaeology.  It is something that I always wanted to do.

Your comment does lead me to the question though on which universities here in the states, particularly in the region where I live, would likely accept transference of credits from the University of Leicester.  Guess I will have to ask around (unless anyone else can confirm for sure that some do).

Ngoldwe,
What is the purpose in transferring the credits back to a US institution?  If you've been accepted at a US school, why not complete your degree there without paying the cash out of pocket to Leicester? Most US Grad schools will cap the amount of classes you can transfer back, and the cap is very, very low.  Six to nine credits usually, your home school should make this very clear to you about their policywhen they admit you to a grad program.No US school will let you complete the degree at UL, transfer the full credits back to the US and grant you a Masters/PhD from the US school solely based off the transfer.

As I understand it, your US financial aid packages won't fund UL courses at this time, so you'd have to make all tuition payments to UL out of pocket.  As far as I know, there is nothing on the UL degree itself that indicates it is a DL degree. I have one myself from Penn State, from their Online program.  Same diploma, same transcripts as the traditional students. Most people, seeing it would simply assume you'd spent a few years in the UK. As far as I know, UL is the sole place for DL Graduate School degrees in Anthro and Archaeo.

As far as landing a teaching job goes, the amount and quality of teaching you do as a Grad student is the sole determinant. That is the biggest drawback I can see with a DL degree, you don't have the chance to get in-the-classroom teaching time in like someone in a traditional brick and mortar programme would. Maybe if you got your MA from UL and then taught as a lecturer at a US school as you complete a UL PhD...But if your goal is actual CRM fieldwork, I'd say UL is a great match.

Here is my problem Liam: back in the 80's I got as far as my third year of college. I have an Associates in Arts Degree in Anthropology from a junior college, then went to a major university.  Since my GPA was low during that third year, I was first placed on academic probation, then was dismissed after failing one class twice (it was statistics).  I tried this university's independent study program in the early 90's to make up for it but that did not go well either (took on a load of three subjects at once).  I guess it is fair to say that I am looking for a way around that now.

I am mostly interested in field work, interpreting the finds, and publishing reports, possibly even doing some museum work.  I am open to teaching, but that is not really a priority for me right now.

I liked one more year to gain a BA.  But what really disappointed me greatly when I was academically dismissed that year was that I was scheduled to go to summer school for two classes: field techniques in archaeology, and lab techniques in archaeology.

I had good study habits and did well in high school.  But college is no doubt a different kind of study environment and it was a particularly tough year for me at that time.

Well then I'd say that Leicester would be a great program for you, start to finish. Like I said before, if you're not concerned about getting GSI or TA time in, then DL is a great way to self-pace yourself. If your ultimate goal is a teaching career, then DL's inability to get you teaching time as a Grad student is a HUGE drawback. But for CRM work, DL seems like a good match.

I know some folks who went through UL, the academic side is as rigorous; if not more so than the US schools. They al lseem pretty happy wit it, but none of them transferred credits back to the US, they all went through the full program.

If your concern is the historic record of your prior work, have you approached the school you originally attended and asked if they have a PHOENIX style program?  Usually, if someone has been dismissed on academic grounds as a youngster, there are sometimes programs to bring them back on a probationary basis, figuring that with age they may have settled down some.  It's worth a shot, since you were admitted there and wouldn't have to re-apply as a matriculant.

As others have pointed out however, the current situation with US funding at UL is a bit hairy, apparently the Satfford and Pell programs won't pay there anymore, and the Montgomery status is a little 'iffy' as well.

Field work as an AA or BA holder is pretty limited to technician slots unless you have tons of experience. Have you poked around the JOBS portion of this site?  You'll see that MA's are in high demand for Crew Leader slots and work is drying up at a time we have a glut of bodies.

A good field school , under the FIELD SCHOOL section of this site will teach you those things you missed teh first time around in summer school, and the credits will usually transfer back to your home school with no issues.

Good luck! Be sure and let us know what your final decision was!

Hi folks.  Bringing you an update on what has been happening with me concerning the subject of this thread.

Since I last posted I checked out the requirements at the college I once attended (UGA) and learned that I had to be a resident student to pick up where I had left off.  Much of their academic requirements had changed since I last was there.  Since I have a full time job and an aging parent to look after that is not a possibility for me.

I am happy to report that I have registered for Univ. of Leicester's introductory course in archaeology and paid out of my own pocket and I will be starting my study this week.  I am so much looking forward to doing this.

I will be checking back at archaeologyfieldwork.com often and will recommend this site to my fellow DL students.

It feels good to be back on the path I had started years ago.

I don't think you will regret your decision. I sure haven't!

Hello all, 

It seems this thread is getting old, but that is okay, because maybe some of you, like Ngoldwe, have more experience they can share with me about UL's Distance Learning MA. I am seriously considering pursuing the MA Archaeology and Heritage with an objective to work in CRM. I graduated in 2009 with a BA in History. I would love to talk with someone, especially someone here in the US, about their DL experience and how they went about applying, their qualifications and acceptance, expenses and coursework.   

Needing a student's perspective! Thanks.

You can email me re: Leicester at rkeyo@yahoo.com.

I don't have the distance-learning experience of Leicester, though I was an undergraduate there (brick 'n' mortar) so can attest to some aspects of it.  For fun, I also applied for an MA in Digital Heritage since it looked like fun and a way to keep the 'ole noodle firing, so can attest to some aspects of the application process.  While I intended to do it, my lovely wife pulled the 'ole "But you already have one" card, so she (US Citizen) then applied for an MA (though Museum Studies, not archaeology), went through the course, and graduated last year so I--through her--have an understanding of the work-load, type of materials etc. that are sent out. 

All in all, I've got a little bit different perspective of things that may or may not fit your requirements for more information, but it's there for you if wanted/needed.  

Email address is my AFW username followed by @gmail.com.

I have to ask, for reference, are any of you students or previous student from the US? I was accepted to the UoL on campus MA program, and I was wondering if anyone had any advice for a US going international for my degree.

Hey all, I didn't have a lot of options when I decided to go back to school since I was travelling around with my husband's military order and was never near a real school for long enough to get through a program- and in some places didn't have a college nearby. So I started Leicester's certificate program in archaeology and ancient history just to get myself going and I really enjoyed it. The study materials were very interesting and the professors very helpful- although you have to reach out to them, if you don't make an effort to involve yourself in the discussions or ask questions it can seem like you're just reading a book and writing a paper once every three months and there's your only involvement in your degree! You can get involved and make it feel more like a real school experience.
 
I finished my cert. and used it to get accepted into a master's program in the U.S. The Leicester admin ladies (Kathy Ashley in particular) are amazing, and very helpful with whatever you need post Leicester. They send me transcripts for free whenever I need them- and it comes with a course description and explanation of the English grading system and how it compares to ours so that it can be applied to schools in the US. I didn't have my courses "transferred" per se so I'm not sure how good they are in that aspect, but they were recognized and accepted by my new school. Depending on their requirements, you might have to take a few core courses before you start a master's like I did (since Leicester didn't have a biological anthropology course, for example, I had to take the undergraduate requirement before I could start the master's program).
I was often a bit embarrassed to tell people in my master's program that my defree was distance, but I found it really didn't matter in the long run, as long as I did quality work to back it up.

Good luck!